Jimmer Fredette: How Will the Ex-BYU Star Affect the Sacramento Kings?

The Sacramento Kings accomplished at least this much in the 2011 NBA Draft: They took a step, albeit a small one, out of the league’s obscurity when they tabbed BYU product Jimmer Fredette with the No. 10 pick. 

Sacramento hasn’t been in the spotlight really since some combination of Chris Webber blowing out his knee, Robert Horry’s buzzer-beater or the Tim Donaghy debacle that temporarily reminded Kings fans of the 2002 Western Conference Finals officiating debacle.  

Since then, the biggest thing to come out of Sacramento was the news that ex-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had himself a bit of a sex scandal. 

So congratulations, Jimmer, your game is officially the biggest thing to hit Sacramento unless you manage to out bizarre Schwarzenegger with some off-the-court shenanigans, which seems unlikely given your Provo background. 

How exactly will Jimmer Time fit in to the middling Sacramento Kings’ plans? 

Let’s find out.

There Will Be Cash: Jerseys, Tickets Will Sell

Most see this as somewhat of a business move for the extremely cash-strapped Kings. 

Sure, Fredette wowed the Kings with a workout that apparently had Sacramento owners Joe and Gavin Maloof salivating all over the floor, but certainly there’s no way they also didn’t see the potential cash benefits of bringing Fredette to California’s capital. 

Sacramento’s fanbase has grown apathetic in recent years as the on-court product hasn’t warranted the ticket prices at Power Balance Pavilian (formerly ARCO Arena). Add in the fact that Sacramento’s economy is in shambles because of California’s budget crisis, and fans aren’t exactly off to the races to spend their limited resources to see DeMarcus Cousins give opposing players the choke sign or fight his own teammates.  

Similarly, Tyreke Evans was the Rookie of the Year two seasons ago, but the more reserved Evans isn’t the type to inspire an already apathetic fanbase. 

Fredette is an immediate “name” player, much like UConn’s Kemba Walker or Arizona’s Derrick Williams. Fans will likely be split on the Fredette pick, but however you slice it, people are still going to watch.

There Will Be Shots: Those Heave-'em-Up-There Kings Are Back

OK, so these won’t be those Bill Clinton-era, Jason Williams-led Kings that would seldom let the shot clock below 15 seconds, but the residue of that team could potentially be seen on the 2011-12 Kings with Fredette in the fold. 

The Kings last season were already as close to an all-offense team with little discipline, or effort, for that matter, on the defensive end of the court. Now when you add Fredette whose defense was already a thing of concern mixed with his penchant for launching three-pointers from near half-court and you’ve got a team that could potentially average 115 points a night. 

The main problem being, they’ll probably give up 120, too. 

Hey, chicks dig the long ball, right? A 125-120 loss is more interesting than a 90-85 one—so go...offense?

There Will Be Interesting: Get Your Popcorn Ready!

John Lemmon and Walter Matthau: The Odd Couple. 

Jimmer Fredette and DeMarcus Cousins: The extremely, extremely bizarre couple. 

But hey, they’re both future cornerstones of the Kings franchise. The mercurial Cousins won few friends in his one season in Sacramento. Evans, with all of his talent, was caught driving 120+ MPH on a Sacramento freeway and was behind the wheel in a drive-by-shooting. 

So, Fredette, being the consummate good guy that he is, it should be interesting to see the chemistry of the new-look Kings. Fredette could, potentially, help change the overall feeling of the Sacramento locker room, or it could turn into a toxic divide. 

Either way, it’ll be interesting. 

Get your support-group counselor ready!

There Will Be Regrets: Brandon Knight Sure Would Have Looked Good in Purple

The Kings needed a point guard. 

Part of the reason they picked at No. 10 is because they were involved in a three-team trade earlier in the day with Milwaukee and Charlotte that also saw them ship away their incumbent floor general Beno Udrih to all but insure that they would have to draft a point guard to fill that void. 

Certainly, they were likely swayed to move down assuming that the non-Kyrie Irving point guard prize of the draft, Brandon Knight, would have been long-since gone by the time Sacramento picked at No. 7.  

The Maloofs were already high on Fredette, but No. 7 would have been a reach for the BYU guard. So a trade down to take Fredette and pick up ex-King John Salmons for a veteran wing presence seemingly made sense. 

So when Knight surprisingly still available at No. 7, Kings General Manager Geoff Petrie had to be kicking himself that he could have had the Kentucky John Calipari-coached phenom. 

Inevitably, Fredette’s progress will be compared with Knight and to a lesser extent, Kemba Walker, as they were the two most heavily linked players with the Kings before trading away the seventh pick. Both would have been available at that spot, too, so Petrie will have to secretly be hoping for them to flop for his own sake.

There Will Be Drama: Jimmer Time Will Provide a Flare for the Dramatic

It doesn’t take much to win the hearts of Sacramento. 

I grew up in Sacramento, so I can tell you first half that one of Sacramento’s most beloved sports figures was Mitch Richmond—and Mitch Richmond hated Sacramento. 

The Kings hold two of the NBA’s longest sellout streaks in league history, and one of the two came when the Kings were middling around in the NBA’s cellar. 

Sacramentans are smitten easily.

The first time Fredette sinks two consecutive three-pointers to ignite the ARCO—errr, Power Balance Pavilion—faithful, he’ll instantly be a fan favorite. Heck, the first time he makes one three-pointer from a foot or two outside the arc, he’ll be a fan favorite. 

Fredette may never be the emerge to be the star that all of Provo assumes he’ll be, or maybe he will, but he’ll take very, very little time to make his way into Sacramento’s limelight—even if it’s a very small one.

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